Today is the 53rd birthday of one of India’s finest actors Manoj Bajpayee. Right from his feature film acting debut in Shekhar Kapoor’s ‘Bandit Queen’, he has delivered some earnest performances in ‘Satya’, ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’, and recently in ‘The Family Man’ series. For this article, we have compiled a list of Manoj Bajpayee’s five must-watch yet underrated performances in movies that can be streamed on various Indian OTT platforms.
Bhonsle (Streaming on SonyLIV)
Helmed by Devashish Makhija, the film features Manoj Bajpayee in the titular role of a former cop named Bhonsle. Despite his declining health status, Bhonsle wants to extend his service in the police force. The disillusioned and bitter cop lives a poor life in a run-down chawl.
There, he meets a North Indian family and decides to protect them from those who are targeting the migrants. Manoj Bajpayee had won the National Film Award for his terrific performance in the movie.
Aligarh (Streaming on Zee5, Jio Cinema, Eros Now)
Directed by Hansal Mehta, the film features Manoj Bajpayee as a professor at the Aligarh Muslim University. After a sting operation that exposes his sexual orientation, the professor gets suspended from his job and loses his university house.
A journalist (Rajkumar Rao) approaches the professor and tries to get him his job back. Manoj Bajpayee had deservedly won the Filmfare best actor critics’ award for his performance in ‘Aligarh’.
Shool (Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar, Mubi, Shemaroo Me, Tata Play, MX Player, Yupp TV)
The hard-hitting film follows the story of an upright and honest police officer (Manoj Bajpayee in one of his career-best performances) who gets transferred to a place where he crosses paths with a powerful and corrupt politician called Bachhu Yadav (Sayaji Shinde).
After more than two decades, Shool still stands as one of the best cop films made in India. Despite receiving accolades, we still think this performance deserves more recognition and should be watched by next-gen OTT viewers.
Raajneeti (Streaming on Netflix)
After a slew of commercially unsuccessful films, Manoj Bajpayee had made a fitting comeback in Prakash Jha’s multi-starrer political thriller ‘Raajneeti’. The film revolves around a powerful Indian family and their ruthless political battle and the game of thrones to become the next CM.
Manoj Bajpayee effortlessly essayed the role of a cunning politician in the film that co-starred Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Nana Patekar, and Katrina Kaif in pivotal roles.
Aiyaary (Streaming on Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar)
Partially inspired by the Adarsh Housing Society scam, the film was helmed by Neeraj Pandey (Director – Baby, Special 26). When a disillusioned but well-intentioned army officer Major Jai Bakshi (Sidharth Malhotra) learns about an illegal arms deal, he absconds with sensitive government information.
Now, his upright mentor Colonel Abhay Singh (Manoj Bajpayee) must race against time and track his protégé at any cost. Despite the film’s insipid response, Manoj Bajpayee’s honest act had received a thumbs-up from critics and audiences alike.